Page 53 of The Stolen Princess
“What do you want?”
If Drake was honest with himself, he wanted Myka not to hate him, but he wasn’t about to tell Grady that. “I’ll take the extra bag of pine nuts that you bought at the market.”
“All right, but if I win the bet, I want your jeweled knife.” His eyes darted to Drake’s weapons belt.
“That’s way more expensive than your pine nuts.”
Grady shrugged. “How confident are you?”
“Confident.”
Not that confident at all.
“Then you shouldn’t be worried about losing your knife.”
Drake pursed his lips together, glancing one more time back at Myka. He liked having a reason to be near her. “Fine.” He reached his hand out to Grady to shake on it. “You have a deal.”
13
Myka
Once they left the village, Myka spent the last hour and a half of the ride with the blindfold back on. When Drake finally took the fabric off, she found herself in the middle of a wooded area with tall trees surrounding them. In the distance, a winding river snaked through the edge of the trees.
“Welcome home,” he said into her ear as the horse trotted through the woods. His hot breath sent a wave of chills from her neck down to her arm. He needed to stop doing that. Nobody whispers in another person's ear. It was a violation of personal space. Myka scratched the side of her neck, hoping to scratch the goosebumps away.
She scanned the area. Small, rundown houses dotted between the trees. Half of them were missing a door or part of their roof. In the distance was an open field where a more significant building had once stood, but the damage on that structure looked severe.
“Are these pre-Desolation houses?” she asked.
“Nope. They aren’t that old. This used to be a Tolsten army training camp.”
Myka searched her memory. “I don’t remember any other army base besides the one in Camgrove.”
“That’s because it’s one-hundred years old.”
That explained why all of the houses and structures were falling apart.
“Why did they stop using it?” she asked.
She felt Drake shrug behind her. “I don’t know. It probably had something to do with how far away it is from Tolsten House or how remote this area is.”
“Does my father know this is here?”
“Are you asking because you’re hoping he will think of this place when he’s looking for you?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“If King Adler knew, he’s long forgotten about it. This land has absolutely nothing of value to the king—rough terrain, poor dirt, colder temperatures. It’s a place no one would think to look, a great place for people who don’t want to be found.”
The other men peeled off from the group, stopping at some of the shacks. Drake led her to the very end before he pulled the horse to a halt. A small wood shack stood before them. The outer walls were made up of boards splintered with cracks and holes that could easily let in outside air and light.
They dismounted the horse, and Myka watched as he tied the animal up to a post by the shack.
“This is my house,” he said as he worked the knot that fastened his bag and supplies to the saddle. “This is where you’ll be staying.” He looked up at her with his almond-shaped eyes. “With me.”
“With you?” Myka swallowed. She had made it twenty-four hours without anyone taking advantage of her, and although Drake hadn’t laid an inappropriate hand on her yet—despite being nicknamed Mr. Grabby Hands—that didn’t stop Myka’s anxiety from settling in.
He nodded back at her.
